Hello;
My son is preparing for his AROTC Scholarship Interview with the PMS contact next month. He has expressed interest to me in possibly going the SMP route.
I am a little concerned about SMP however. His post-college goal is to serve on Active Duty as an Officer (Aviation branch is his first choice).
The additional financial benefits are appealing, however I am concerned about the extra weekend committment affecting his grades and ROTC unit participation in other activities.
I went to college while being a Air National Guard enlisted person (prior active duty) for the $$ and tuition benefits, but I do remember it impacting on my studies/homework. Also, the annual training deployments also sometimes conflicted with my college schedule... yes, the needs of the military comes first (and being a student in a liberal state university yielded instructors who did not cut any of us guardsmen and reservists any slack whatsoever).
Also, I would think that a new private awaiting a basic training date could also be impacted by a university / basic training scheduling conflict (again, needs of the military come first).
Anyone who can chime in with SMP experiences and/or recommendations?
Many thanks,
USAF (ANG) Major (ret)
My son is preparing for his AROTC Scholarship Interview with the PMS contact next month. He has expressed interest to me in possibly going the SMP route.
I am a little concerned about SMP however. His post-college goal is to serve on Active Duty as an Officer (Aviation branch is his first choice).
The additional financial benefits are appealing, however I am concerned about the extra weekend committment affecting his grades and ROTC unit participation in other activities.
I went to college while being a Air National Guard enlisted person (prior active duty) for the $$ and tuition benefits, but I do remember it impacting on my studies/homework. Also, the annual training deployments also sometimes conflicted with my college schedule... yes, the needs of the military comes first (and being a student in a liberal state university yielded instructors who did not cut any of us guardsmen and reservists any slack whatsoever).
Also, I would think that a new private awaiting a basic training date could also be impacted by a university / basic training scheduling conflict (again, needs of the military come first).
Anyone who can chime in with SMP experiences and/or recommendations?
Many thanks,
USAF (ANG) Major (ret)